This is a focus for developing an integrated rail transportation system in Second Life.
I will work with Real Life (RL) & Second Life (SL) partners (e.g. Selby & Linden Research Labs inc) so that mainline rail systems throughout SL are accessible to all Train owners.
My RL company Train Chartering & RL/SL partners are developing a rail center in Calleta which will be the focus for rail enthusiasts & businesses aiming to develop rail / train systems to bring SL inhabitants to their sims.

Wednesday, 31 January 2007

I have a convenient 1- prim display device that we will use in the SL train travel business. I call it wall imager. You put any textures you please into its contents and it will display them all in sequence. You can make it wall sized if you want. If the textures have transparencies, you will probably want it to have a blank wall behind it. If someone clicks on it it will deliver the top note card in its contents.

Our use for it will be as a wall poster displaying destinations in SL. In general, there will be one poster for each destination. The poster would present images of the destination. The note card will present a description of the destination and a land mark. (There could be multiple landmarks if needed.)

The main thing about this design is that anybody (almost) can use it. So we give it to people who want to have us display their sim or build. They take the pix. They make a note card. They send it to us. All we do is send out offers to host their poster in our Poster Hoster. And when we get it back, we put it up. I will be making a set of instructions and talking to Geo about this plan in the next day or so.

I am working on a project to make railroads and train stations clearly visible on the SL map. The general idea comes from the sky sign at Hobo Village (Calleta). We would mark train stations with a symbol floating high and big enough to be visible on the map. We would mark railroads with a similar symbol (same color, for example), but narrow enough to suggest a line and to fit over the right-of-way.

We would hope to get all SL rail lines to use the same symbols.

I am presently testing designs for visibility with minimum prims. The first tests will be over Thinkerer Studios in Calleta. I am inviting suggestions for the graphic.

Someone will no doubt say: “Why don’t you just get the Lindens to change the map software so that the map automatically shows railroads if you check a box.”

To that someone, I say: “Great! You go talk Linden Labs into doing that while I work on how we can do it ourselves.”

(extension of previous note card)Paddy P. needs a train mall to go with his train museum and train station. Just a pistol shot down the road from our village. So I told him we got lotsa able and fast builder-artists in Hobo Village. But he doesn't know exactly what he wants it to look like. And so I made up this plan.

I am inviting the builder-artists of Hobo Village to use my island, Thinkerer Quests, to build examples of what his mall would look like if they built it. The examples may be miniatures. They may be exteriors or interior segments. They should remind people of Grand Central Station (NYC). There should be a spacious (high and wide) interior. He may add other suggestions later. I assume you can talk to him if you want to.

He will look at the examples and pick one or more builders to negotiate with. Main negotiating issues will be price and time frame. He needs it fast. He will pay in Linden dollars, and is not expecting to make you rich. But there are other possible benefits: He and I will invite other rail enthusiasts to the display. Maybe they will be interested in your work. I will look for other ways to get publicity for the work. There may be future work paid in real dollars.

There are a number of builder-artists that already have building powers at TQ. Those who don’t can contact Zander for temporary powers. None of these builds would necessarily become permanent exhibits at TQ. The will all be returned to you after the project is over. Contact Zan for places you can build, which may be above ground level.

Added suggestions (These are mine. Not Paddy’s. Check with him for authoritative views):The example need not be complete. Use it to show your concepts and what you can do.Google on Grand Central Station and use Google images. Get a feel for the place. Notice the images you see a lot (clock, for example).

I will see if Paddy wants some bustle and rail sounds (with big building echoes). Not a builder problem there, but a feel issue.

Instead of shop space, much of the vending might be by automated kiosk vendors. For interior work, put them on or not as you think best. They don’t all have to be at floor level.

You might look for ways to use the special potentials of SL.

If you need a script and don’t have it, don’t spend time trying to find it. Make a note card describing what the script would do.

Can people not in the Hobo group make a build? Sure. I am inviting all artists in the art quest group to this project. Others are welcome to make builds of their own, in locations of their own choosing. They would notify Paddy of the place to look.

Tuesday, 30 January 2007

Paddy and I are working on this project to:>Enhance the visibility and entertainment values of the rail systems in SL.>Build on the great values in Calleta, Hobo Village and the Info Hub. >Improve the welcome we give to newcomers in Second Life.>Provide useful travel information and services for people new to Second Life.>Provide valuable marketing services to RL commercial enterprises in SL>Develop ways to bring real dollars to people offering services in SL.>Convince Linden Labs of the value of Calleta and its people and its needs.

We will be using this blog to communicate about what we are doing or might be doing Readers will be able to post comments. People who want to post as contributors should contact Paddy. We would like to have as contributors all the people in SL with a strong interest in Second Life Rail.

We intend to use this blog as a replacement for conversations on the SL forums. The advantage of a public blog like this is that it is available to people not (YET) in SL. We will also be interested in having comments from people intersted, for example, in model railroads or real world travel.

Rail binds communities and builds commerce.A railway network across Second Life on which trains of all kinds can travel will knit the world together and encourage businesses to develop.This vision of a global integrated rail system needs cooperation to a degree that may only be possible in Second Life.All the necessary ingredients are out there: Second Life, the in-world & real-life talent, the enthusiasm, the needs.Let's go!!